[Silver]

Community health centers (CHCs) are located throughout the US. Most CHCs accept Medicaid and Medicare. Most CHCs also offer sliding fee or sliding scale services. They are NOT "free clinics," but they do slide their fees all the way down to a nominal charge based on income.

There is a national directory of CHCs located here. The lists can be a little long and confusing, because they list every site at which a CHC may offer services, and most CHCs also see people at local shelters and centers. Scan the list and look for something that looks like a "health center," "neighborhood health center," "health clinic," or "clinica del salud." If that doesn't work, a little telephoning will work.

Alternate option: good old Google, using "community health center" and your town's name.

The CHCs have paperwork requirements for financial eligibility set by the federal government. Ask on the phone what these requirements are, as having all your paperwork ready to go can really speed things up. If you want to be the shining star of patient organization, have all your 'eligibility' paperwork done and set up before the appointment. You have no idea how much easier this can make your life.

If your CHC is not taking new patients, ask about walk-ins. Given recent economic events, and the current state of Medicare, most CHCs are overloaded. Keep checking back. Show up. Bring a book. Especially if you live in an area with bad winter weather, show up on a day with lousy weather. There will be no-shows a-plenty, and they will probably be able to work you in.

All CHCs provide general medical care. Some CHCs also provide mental health care to varying degrees. If your CHC doesn't have mental health on-site, or can't provide long-term mental health care, they should have information available on how to link you to the local community mental health center (CMHC.) CMHs are a topic for a whole separate post.

Still, most CHCs will be able to provide you with some 'bridge' care until you can get linked in to psychiatry. It can be a little trickier when it comes to managing controlled substances, as GPs aren't comfortable with that, or with managing drugs that require monitoring, such as lithium and carbamazepine and Depakote, as GPs aren't always familiar with that. Having your former psychiatrist's contact information may help significantly.

[celestia]

Thank you, Silver. This is very helpful. I have an uninsured 20 year old and it worries the hell out of me.

[scatty]

Thanks Silver! I go to a wonderful community center that offers partial hospitalization, med management, day programs, therapy, and various anonymous meetings. The only downside is that there is a quick turnover. I suggest that clients help in their paperwork, by giving their pdoc or tdoc notes on their symptoms, write out what meds have and haven't helped them in the past, etc.. Some of the staff are so overworked and have too many patients to keep detailed records.

[Velvet Elvis]

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